P45 M worth of shabu chemicals destroyed

BACOOR, Cavite – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) destroyed about P45 million worth of seized chemicals used in the manufacture of illegal drugs here Thursday morning.

PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago led his men in placing the chemicals inside a machine at Dome Consolidated Chemical Corp. in Barangay Niog 2 here.

Destroyed were liquid chemicals like acetone, chloroform, ethanol, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, methyl ethyl ketone, sulfuric acid, thionyl chloride, and toluene, with a total volume of 24,898.5 liters.

Solid chemicals like barium sulfate, calcium oxide, mercuric chloride, potassium sulfate, and sodium acetate, weighing a total of 532.5 kilos, were also destroyed.

The chemicals, according to Santiago, were confiscated in PDEA operations from 2003 to 2005, particularly in the cities of Las Piñas, Parañaque, Caloocan, and Antipolo.

Witnessing the event, part of PDEA’s "chemical precursors’ destruction" effort, were Secretary Anselmo Avenido Jr., chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, Undersecretaries Edgar Galvante and Romeo Vera Cruz, Gen. Gerry Barias of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Operation Task Force, and representatives of the National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Public Attorney’s Office, and the Cavite police.

Santiago said PDEA has intensified its surveillance operations with the support of international law enforcement and Customs agencies and the United Nations.